NEWARK, N.J. — Maryland had no answer for Villanova’s Eric Dixon on Sunday. The senior forward was up to 38 points when he caught the ball with less than two seconds left, but his final attempt didn’t fall.
Maryland overcame Dixon’s barrage and a 12-point halftime deficit to beat Villanova, 76-75, in the Saatva Empire Classic to earn its first high-major victory of the season. There were seven lead changes in the final five minutes of a game that went down to the buzzer.
Dixon scored Villanova’s (3-4) final 11 points, but the Terps repeatedly answered the graduate student’s clutch baskets. Dixon hit a go-ahead three with 1:15 left before Derik Queen attacked the rim on the ensuing possession to put Maryland (5-1) ahead by one.
The freshman center hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to give Maryland the lead for good.
Queen scored a team-high 18 points in the second half, finishing the day with 22 points and 11 rebounds for his second collegiate double-double.
“All the coaches were getting on me,” Queen said. “We just [understood] how they [were] playing me, [so I was] slowing down and trying to make the right decision every time.”
Maryland coach Kevin Willard said the game plan for Queen didn’t change after halftime — the Terps always wanted to feed him the ball at the elbow, but he wasn’t aggressive enough in the first according to Willard.
He only tallied four shots and turned the ball over as many times in the first 20 minutes.[Iowa runs all over Maryland football as the Terps lose bowl eligibility in 29-13 loss]
“He’s such a talented player. The game comes easy to him, but I would say he was a little too lackadaisical, a little bit too cool in the first half,” Willard said. “I think he got a little pissed off in the second half, and I think when he plays that way, he’s as good as anyone there is.”
Fellow big man Julian Reese also notched a double-double, scoring 18 and grabbing 10 rebounds. The senior paced Maryland in the first half with 11 points on eight shot attempts.
The Terps began slow, falling into a 15-5 deficit after an 11-0 Wildcats run about six-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Maryland’s offense picked up briefly after a timeout, but its defense struggled to contain Dixon.
Dixon scored 16 of Villanova’s first 27 points and made his first four 3-pointers. He finished the first half with 22 points as the Wildcats entered the break ahead, 40-28.
“[Dixon’s] a tough matchup,” Willard said. “I’ve been playing against Eric now for six years. He’s really evolved his game. He made his first couple and just kept going … He made a lot of tough shots and played really well.”
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Maryland was within two possessions for portions of the half, but it only scored four points in the final seven minutes of the period. The Terps had the same number of makes and turnovers in the first half with 11.
They came out of the break on fire, though, draining four of their first five shots to force a Villanova timeout.
A 3-pointer from freshman guard Malachi Palmer cut the Maryland deficit to two points with just under 12 minutes remaining, its smallest margin since early in the first half. Graduate student guard Jayhlon Young did the same a minute later.
Willard was complimentary of Palmer and Young’s minutes off the bench, particularly for their defensive efforts.
Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie tied the game with a pair of free throws before Queen hit a fadeaway jumper to give Maryland a two-point lead with just under nine minutes left. It was the Terps’ first time leading since the 16-minute mark in the first half.
Even with Villanova’s (3-4) struggles, the Wildcats are still the best team the Terps have defeated by a wide margin. The average KenPom ranking of the four teams Maryland beat before Sunday was No. 324.
The last time the two teams met a year ago, the Terps only scored 40 points in a 17-point loss — Sunday’s game looked much different, as has this season for Maryland.
“I feel like it builds confidence within the team,” Reese said. “It’s a great win, especially knowing how we came out in the first half and just bounced back how we did.”
